WHOLESALE POISONING.

Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 1023, 6 November 1871, Page 3

WHOLESALE POISONING.

[ettbopeajt mail.] A most extraordinary case is under investigation by the Brighton magistrates. According to the statements, published, an atterrpt has been made to poison several persons by sending them presents of eatables. The chief constable of Brighton has offered a reward of L2O for the discovery of the sender of the parcels. Some of these were conveyed by post and others by rail. On being opened they were found to contain cakes, sweetmeats, and fruit ; and in some cases a cake was wrapped up separately and addressed to the mistress of the house. In most cases the cakes were found to contain poison. The particulars of two cases are given, »nd are as follows :— At about mid-day on the ] Oth August, two white deal boxes, one being about 14in long by 12in wide, and the other about lOin square, were left at the Victoria Railway Station, addressed to different persons in Brighton, to whom they were delivered the same evening. The carriage of both boxes was prepaid, and when opened they were found to contain cakes, and in each box were a few cakes done up in a piece of paper separately from the others, and on one of these papers the following was written —"A few home - made cakes for the children. Those , done up are flavored on purpose for yourself to enjoy. You will . guess who this is from ; I can't mystify you, I fear. I hope this will arrive in time for you to-night, while the eatables are fresh." The other paper had writing on it to the like effect, but with the initials "G. M." attached. The cakes which were in the papers have since been found to contain poison. Suspicion having been fixed on a lady named Edwards, unmarried, about 35 years of age, she was arrested and brought before the borough magistrates charged with having attempted to poison Mrs Emily Beard, the wife of Jh Beard, a physician practising in Brighton. It was deposed that she was intimately acquainted with Dr and Mrs Beard, the former having attended her professionally. A coolness, however, arose, owing to the circumstance that the prisoner had some time since taken a number of chocolate drops, to Mrs Beard's house, one of which she placed in that lady's mouth, and the result was that it caused her to be very unwell. Dr Beard had his suspicions at the time, but being unable to prove anything, he was compelled to let the matter rest. After this the accused continued to write frequent letters to Dr Beard in such an affectionate strain that he was compelled to ask her to desist. This was about three weeks ago, and shortly afterwards ,the mysterious parcels began to arrive. In one received by Mrs Beard there was a cake. She very narrowly escaped being poisoned by it, two of the servants who ate a portion of it being made very ill. It was also stated to the Magistrates that a few months ago, at the inquest on a little boy who had died from the effects of poison contained in some chocolate creams alleged to have been obtained at a large confectioner's in Brighton, the accused came forward as a witness, and said that she had herself suffered from eating sweatm eats bought at the same establishment. She then wrote to Dr Beard, and sought to explain the supposed attempt to poison Mrs Beard with a chocolate drop Borne months previously by the facts revealed at the inquest. At that time also several parcels of sweets Were discovered in the town, distributed in a very mysterious manner- It should also, be stated that recently a quantity of strychnine has been obtained from a chemist by a forged order purporting to come from another chemist, and that shortly afterwards the book in which the chemist registered the sale of poisons was obtained by an order to which the name of the Borough Coroner was forged, and some leaves of the book were abstracted. . The accused has undergone several examinations, and now stands remanded.